A Long Night

It was all going so well until we settled down for the evening at about 8 p.m. Mortimer usually joins us in the sitting room and falls asleep, in fact we usually have to wake him up for his late night walk. Not last night. He paced. And he paced. Upstairs & downstairs he just wouldn't settle and then he started panting. Not the usual "it's too hot in here" sort but short and sharp, it was very distressing. We started to wonder how much Advocate he had really swallowed and if it was the cause of this. A quick internet search revealed that this was a distinct possibility and when the trembling started it was a quick call into the vet who wanted to see him straight away. 
I hate taking animals to the vets like this - gone are the cheerful nurses and the chats with other owners in the waiting room. The practice nurse was waiting by the front door and we were taken straight in to the consulting room. Small talk was forgotten and we responded to a staccato firing of questions. We were lucky that our vet had done some research while we were on our way and, although unpleasant, there should be no permanent damage. Nevertheless Mortimer was kept in overnight with an I.V. drip and glucose feed.

When we collected him this morning he was looking very sorry for himself with a bandage on his leg which had held the catheter and a very unpleasant dribbly chin! But the tail wagged and he seemed pleased to see us. We were allowed to bring him home as long as we monitored him for the next 24 hours. Not difficult when he collapsed into a big snoring heap! Of course it's OK for him - but we're still sleep deprived and caffeine overloaded! Roll on bedtime!